Just the other day, I was thinking that I do not know one person who has never tasted chocolate. Yes, I know many who have never laid a tooth on crocodile or tortoise, but chocolate? Not a single person. Do you?
Chocolate has been around since at least 1900 BC and there is evidence that both the Mayan and Aztec civilisations consumed chocolate as a beverage.
It is also possible that the name chocolate (xocolatl meaning ‘bitter water’ in Nahuatl) stems from this period.
The English word ‘chocolate’ dates back to the 1600s and is imported from Spanish. Christopher Columbus first imported cacao seeds into Spain from the New World.
In its original, raw state, Theobroma Cacao seeds are extremely bitter and need to be fermented to develop the chocolate flavour.
After fermentation, the seeds are dried, cleaned (the shell is removed) and roasted (almost like coffee). The seeds are then ground into cacao mass, the raw form of chocolate.
The most common contemporary form of chocolate, milk chocolate was invented in 1875 when Daniel Peter mixed powdered milk with liquefied chocolate.
Despite the fact that the Theobroma Cacao tree is indigenous to Central and South America, West Africa, and notably Ivory Coast, today produce most of the world’s cacao beans (around 43%).
There are three varieties of cacao beans used to make chocolate today.
They are Criollo (the most rare and expensive), Forastero (the most common bean and also the only bean variety produced in Africa) and Trinitario (which is a hybrid of the previous two beans).
Once the cacao beans have been harvested, they are stored in large containers and allowed to ferment for up to seven days. After fermentation, the beans are dried to prevent mould growth.
Once dry, the beans are cleaned and roasted.
The shells are removed to expose the inner nib.
These nibs are ground and liquefied which results in pure chocolate in liquid form. This is called ‘chocolate liquor’.
From the liquor one can extract cocoa solids and cocoa butter.
The latter two components are mixed back into chocolate liquor in different ratios to produce different types of ‘chocolate blends’ or couvertures.
Such blends include ‘dark chocolate’, ‘milk chocolate’ and ‘white chocolate’ and include additional ingredients such as sugar, milk, milk powder and flavouring agents such as vanilla.
White chocolate includes no cocoa solids; and in the USA it is now legal to add partially hydrogenated vegetable oil as substitute for cocoa butter and artificial sweetener and milk substitutes. It is doubtful if these should be regarded as chocolate at all.
Different chocolate manufacturers develop their own unique blends of signature chocolates. Overall, the best dark chocolate contains at least 70% cocoa and milk chocolate much less (less than 50%).
The smooth texture and creamy mouth-feel that is associated with superior chocolate stems from a process called ‘conching’.
A machine called a ‘melanger’ is used to grind the raw ingredients, which is kept in a liquid state by fractional heat. The conching process can last up to 72 hours.
Most cooks and inexperienced chefs are intimidated by the tempering of chocolate – a process that controls the crystallisation of cocoa butter.
In short, during tempering, chocolate is heated to 45°C, then cooled to 27°C then heated once more to 31°C. A solid, already tempered piece of chocolate could be added to the molten chocolate at 27°C to assist with the formation of ‘seed crystals’.
Alternatively, a chocolate tempering machine with digital settings could be used.
Chocolate is best stored where it is cool (15°C to 17°C ) and not too humid (less than 50%).
It absorbs other flavours so it should be stored by itself in an airtight container.
Storing at too low temperatures (below 15°C) or in conditions with too high humidity will cause the sugar in the chocolate to bloom.
Re-tempering the chocolate can eliminate blooming of either kind.
Chocolate should not be frozen or refrigerated because of the risk caused by excess moisture or temperature fluctuations when the chocolate is removed and then placed back.
